


I Found

by Burtlederp



Category: Schlock Mercenary (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Kaff Tagon - Freeform, Romance, Science Fiction, Tagon, Tagon has an illegitimate child, Tagon's Toughs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 21:17:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11365803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burtlederp/pseuds/Burtlederp
Summary: When Cynthetic Certainty's fuel tank is shot, Kaff Tagon's crew are stranded for a few days at an obscure little spaceport for repairs. Kaff expects to sit around for two days doing nothing, when fate surprises him with love and shows him the outcome of that blackmail case from years ago.





	I Found

Tagon stood at the viewing deck of the Cynthetic Certainty, scowling out the window.  
“I’m going as fast as I can, sir.” Cindy assured him apprehensively, her displayed AI hovering beside him.  
“How come we aren’t done yet, then?” Kaff Tagon asked her flatly, not looking away from the view of the space station they were approaching.  
“Because ‘as fast as I can,’ is not the ‘fastest.’” Cindy sighed. “This could be an excellent time to take a short vacation, while the ship is being retanked and refueled.”  
“We didn’t lost anybody on the last engagement, just your fuel tank was punctured.” Tagon pointed out.  
“No, not recruiting, a break. Don’t think about work, go out with your men to get a drink.” Cindy suggested. Tagon was silent, mulling over the idea in his head.  
“You’re saying I should get to know my men better.”  
“And vice versa. It builds trust and loyalty. A provides a slight morale boost.” Cindy pushed. Tagon sighed, rubbing his face.  
“Fine. I guess I haven’t been to a bar in a while. It could be nice.” He nodded. “If anything, if I drink enough, the next two days will pass in a snap.”  
“I hate to sound like your father, but to repeat his words in his last message, ‘don’t do anything stupid.’ Please.”  
“I promise nothing.” Tagon waved her off, walking out of the room. “Let the crew know that we will be docking for two days, they have a little time off, but not much.”  
Two hours later, Tagon stepped off the Cynthetic Certainty, eyes lowered to his handbrain, wondering what in the world he was going to do for two days. He could not, as he had joked about, spend two days in a bar, blackout drunk, not without some pressing consequences. He had told Cindy to look for any jobs in town that needed doing, something small that they could get done while in port, but she hadn’t sent him anything, not yet.  
He sighed, lowering his handbrain as he sat down on a bench, watching a couple of his soldiers file out of the ship and disperse into the station.  
The station was a smaller, out of the way place, on the fringe of the galaxy, where the rules were somewhat unknown and news from this place didn’t spread, because there wasn’t any put out. It was quiet here, evidently, but the longer Tagon looked at the station and it’s high-stretching ceilings, the more he noticed evidence of battle. The walls were damaged, scuffs here and there, thick pads of nanoweave and carbon putty stuck over inconspicuous cracks in the glass. But none of it was recent. There was a lot of gardens, scattered all over, some not even framed by cement walls, some coming right through the old tile floors, sprouting from cracks in the walls. It didn’t smell like a normal port, but cleaner, older.  
“Iwojimaican Spaceport…” He murmured under his breath, watching birds flutter overhead and land in one of the wall gardens. “What the heck is there to do here?” He looked back down at his handbrain, and was surprised to see a small alien standing in front of him. It was about the size of a cat, and looked almost like a yellow jack rabbit. It wore a small blue jacket with ‘Station Guide’ blazoned on the side.  
“Uhh, can I help you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“No, no, but I’m wonderin’, can I help you? You’re lookin’ a little bored, and there’s plenty ta’ do ‘round here.” The creature replied. “If ye’ paid your dockin’ fees, then you’re welcome to a lot’ve stuff around ‘ere.”  
“What is there to do?” Tagon asked impatiently.  
“There’s a swimmin’ pond ‘ere, in the main area, a selection of shops n’ restaurants, a museum, a number o’ bars. Oh, you look the type t’ enjoy ta’ gun range down on th’ bottom level.” The rabbit-ish creature offered. “It’s free if ye’ bring yer own guns n’ ammo, but you can rent some other things ta’ shoot, too.” Tagon thought about it.  
“What grade weapons can it withstand?”  
“We ‘aven’t found somethin’ that can punch through the bulkhead yet, an’ we ‘ave ‘ad a number of things fired down there, includin’ some things not rated for indoor use.” The rabbit winked. Tagon smirked.  
“Alright, I’m convinced. I’ll go see that.” Tagon stood, storing his handbrain in his pocket.  
“Sounds good. I think you’ll ‘ave a fine time. Elevators are by the station center.” The rabbit smiled, waving him goodbye, hopping away as Tagon headed down the corridor to the station center, also called main area, as the signs said. Stepping through a smaller doorway covered in ivy, he was surprised to see a large, spacious room with four, tall pillars around a large center circle. It was overgrown, vines crawling up the pillars and hanging from the rails of the floor way above. There was grass growing happily, flowers blooming, a handful of trees standing tall in the light cast from the top of the station that shown down brightly. In the very center was a large pond, with large boulders piled haphazardly around its’ edges, painted with cattails, rushes, and lilypads decorating the surface. A man sat fishing, while on the opposite side, younger aliens were swimming and splashing. The surrounding tile floors of the small meadow were lined with shops and bars and establishments.  
Finding himself in no rush, he spent a moment admiring the old station and the plants that thrived within, and the aliens that meandered about, before walking to the nearest pillar. A sign was fixed on each, labeling them elevators. He entered, pressing the bottom floor, and moments later found himself in a much different, somewhat colder environment. The bottom floor was not as well lit, not designed to have as much space as the original floor, choked with pipes, holes, and rocks. He found himself picking around iffy-looking puddles and strange aliens; mushrooms grew off the walls, the air humid. The signs on the walls were clear, though, lit by yellow lights, and he eventually found his way to the gun range.  
Entering it, he found a tight, long room with cement walls, floors, and ceiling, lit brightly with cannister lights. There was a line of windows, but only one employee in one, playing solitaire with headphones on. A reptilian alien stood on the opposite side of the room, firing down the range at a target with a high-powered rifle. Fading, aged paper was plastered above the windows, advertising various weapons one could rent to fire, spare headphones on a rack on the wall, with a selection of various ear plugs.  
Tagon left to explore the station some more.

At 8 pm, the station lights dimmed. Tagon was leaning on the railing of the third floor above the main, watching a suspicious character root through some garbage, when it became darker. The time reminded him of an empty stomach. Deciding to indulge his hunger, he didn’t bother to try and find anyone of his crew on the deceivingly large station, and entered a bar named “The Pigeonhole.”  
It was dimly lit on the inside, the music loud, and the crowd was little. He took a seat at the bar, ordered a burger and fries, and watched as people filed in. Noise level rose, but not above unbearable, becoming practically silent as he received a burger that was surprisingly good. His stomach filled, he nursed a beer, sending a message to Cindy to inquire how the repairs were going.  
“Sir,” Tagon raised his head as the bartender set a sunset martini in front of him.  
“I didn’t order this.” He objected.  
“The Nener did, for you.” The bartender motioned to a humanoid alien across the bar. It looked like a human female, dolled up like a supermodel, except for the extra eyes and odd ears. He blew him a kiss. He stared at her evenly, not moving.  
“No thanks.” He said.  
“Then I’ll have it.” A woman who had sat down next to him without his noticing suddenly swooped in and took the martini. Tagon turned to her, surprised, while she looked him in the eye, sipping the martini. She peered past Tagon briefly, mocking a smooch at the Nener, who scowled and disappeared into the crowd.  
“Good choice. Those Nener gals’ll cut you open.” The woman said after smirking. “They drug you and then sell your guts.”  
“So… wouldn’t there be drugs in that?” Tagon asked her warily.  
“Probably, but it shouldn’t effect me much, if at all. Neners have a good sense of smell, they know your chemical make up just by sniffing you, so whatever drug is in this drink is tailored to you, not me.” The woman explained, then held out her hand. “Jennifer Tampalion.”  
“Kaff Tagon.” He smiled, intrigued. “How’d you know that?” She shrugged, taking another sip.  
“I spend enough time around here to pick up some facts… What brings you to this little station in the middle of nowhere, Kaff Tagon?” She asked, leaning her head on her hand. Tagon wasn’t completely convinced of her reasoning, but went with it.  
“Had a rough passage through an asteroid belt.” He lied. If she was fibbing, he’d fib too. Her eyes narrowed, but her smile didn’t disappear.  
“Okay. What if I buy you a drink?” She said with a demure smile. “Will you tell me what really brought you here?”  
“If you buy enough of them… and if you tell me how you actually know so much about Neners.” He countered. She scoffed. Her bright green eyes suddenly shifted past Tagon, narrowing and her smile fading.  
“What is it?” He asked, turning just as she lunged forward, off the chair. In a split second, she was standing between Tagon and the Nener, who was wielding a syringe. She had a gauss pistol positioned on the throat of the alien, who looked pissed.  
“Hey Tagon,” Jennifer said, not looking away from the alien, who was glaring daggers at her. “You know how to fight?”  
“Yes, of course.” His hand was on his own pistol.  
“Good. The Neners are wearing body armor.” She said, grinning, and all hell broke loose. The Nener that Jennifer had in front of her attempted to twist and stab her with the needle, but failed to do so, the girl smoothly ducking and twisting around it like she was dancing, before firing the gun and putting the Nener on the ground, gasping. Another came out of the crowd at Tagon while this happened, wielding a knife. This one was a male, but not much thicker than the female, and Tagon came at him at full speed. The Nener was flipped onto a table and subdued by Jennifer, who turned from her new attacker to pistol whip the nener. Tagon raised his gun and fired, taking down the nener on Jennifer. One very brief, smooth firefight later, six Neners had been knocked unconscious or had scrambled away, and the both of them hastily retreated before the bartender could call the cops.  
“That was incredible. Where did you learn to fight like that?” Tagon laughed as they took a small alleyway between the buildings.  
“Truth be told,” She grinned. “I’m actually a bounty hunter.”  
“Really?” Tagon smiled broadly. “Well, truth be told, I’m captain of Tagon’s Toughs, one of the most infamous mercenary companies in the galaxy.” Jennifer’s eyes widened.  
“Are you really?” She asked incredulously.  
“I really am.” Tagon nodded. She was silent for a moment, smiling, then scoffed.  
“Welp, I’m definitely gonna buy you a drink now.” She chuckled. “And by the way, call me Jenny.” Tagon smiled.  
“And call me Kaff.”  
She pulled him into the next street and into another, much darker, much quieter bar, and ordered drinks. Three shots of whiskey and four fancy drinks later, Tagon was regaling her with the tale of terrifying beetles invading a cruise ship--some details embellished--when Jenny did something that took him by surprise. She had been looking more and more tired, when she suddenly grabbed him by the collar and planted her lips on his. A long moment later, she pulled away, looking at him with a smile. Tagon stared back with a broad grin.  
She drew him out of the bar, down the street, to a ship lot of smaller, commercial vehicles that could parked inside, and into a smaller, black ship.

Simulated sunlight shone through the windows of the ship, landing directly on Tagon’s face. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking groggily. Looking around briefly, he realized that this wasn’t his bedroom. This was followed quickly by the memory of last night, and he turned to see the bathroom door open, and hear the shower going. He sighed contentedly, dosing until Jenny walked into the room to get dressed. He finally rose, showered, and dressed as well.  
“Hey,” Jenny stopped him as he went to the door. She looked him directly in the eye, kissing him. “Let’s not make this a one time thing.” Tagon smiled.  
“We’re here for another night.” He raised an eyebrow. “I think I know how I’ll be spending it.”


End file.
